Papal text says man betrays God by destroying the environment

MANILA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Pope Francis waded into the
global debate on climate change and the environment on Sunday,
saying in the text of a speech that man was destroying nature
and betraying God's calling to be stewards of creation.

Francis offered his thoughts about the environment and
climate change for the second time in four days at a rally with
young people at a Manila university on the last full day of a
week-long Asian tour that has taken him to Sri Lanka and the
Philippines.

He did not read all of a speech prepared for delivery at the
university, improvising after he was moved by the story of an
abandoned girl. When he does this, the Vatican says the prepared
text is official.

"As stewards of God's creation, we are called to make the
earth a beautiful garden for the human family. When we destroy
our forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we
betray that noble calling," he said in the text.

Another line he read to the crowd noted that "this country,
more than many others, is likely to be seriously affected by
climate change".

His comments came a day after he made a dramatic visit to
the central city of Tacloban, ground zero of Typhoon Haiyan,
which killed at least 6,300 people, left a million homeless and
displaced 4 million more when it struck in November 2013.

In Tacloban, Francis wore a transparent poncho to protect
him from strong wind and driving rain and had to cut short his
visit by four hours to get out of the way of a tropical storm.

"Respect for the environment means more than simply using
cleaner products or recycling what we use. These are important
aspects, but not enough," he said in the written speech.

"We need to see, with the eyes of faith, the beauty of God's
saving plan, the link between the natural environment and the
dignity of the human person," it said.

MAN MOSTLY RESPONSIBLE

Sri Lanka is among the Asian countries experts say will see
sea level rises likely to displace people and adversely affect
tourism and fisheries.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him to Manila
on Thursday, Francis said he believed that man was primarily
responsible for climate change and that he hoped the U.N.
climate meeting in Paris in November would take a courageous
stand to protect the environment.

"I don't know if it is all (man's fault) but the majority
is, for the most part, it is man who continuously slaps nature
in the face," he said.

Those words were his clearest to date on climate change,
which has sparked worldwide debate and even divided conservative
and liberal Catholics, particularly in the United States, on
whether it is man-made.

The Pope told reporters that his long-awaited encyclical on
the environment was almost finished and that he hoped it would
be published in June, ahead of the U.N. meeting in Paris.

Last month in Peru, about 190 nations agreed on the building
blocks of a global deal to combat climate change amid warnings
that far tougher action would be needed to limit increases in
global temperatures.

Under the deal reached in Lima, governments will submit
national plans for reining in greenhouse gas emissions by an
informal deadline of March 31 to form the basis of a global
agreement due at the Paris summit. Francis faulted the Peru
conference for not doing enough about climate change.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Paul Tait)